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Southwestern Bell Corporation, which changed its name to SBC Communications in 1995, acquired Pacific Telesis in 1997, Southern New England Telephone Company in 1998, and Ameritech in 1999. In February 2005, SBC announced its plans to acquire former parent company AT&T Corp. for over $16 billion. SBC took on the AT&T name upon merger closure on November 18, 2005. SBC began trading as AT&T Inc. on December 1, 2005 but began re-branding as early as November 21. In 2006 AT&T Inc. purchased BellSouth.
Paco, I did not mention POTS - not as an abbreviation, I mean. IT was VOIP that I mentioned as I did not know what it meant. And, yes, I do have one hard-wired phone. Not only for the reason you give but because of its very loud ring (which I suspect even the neighbors can hear).
Thank you for explanation of VOIP. As for UVerse, I'll have to look into that. It was my understand that it involves television, internet and telephone. I thought you had to have all three. Whatever, I am happy with what I have.
Happy Day. hazel.
How old are you, Hazel? You sound pretty savvy about your phone situation.
What exactly are the disadvantages to having a landline phone especially if you also have a prepaid cell phone?
There's actually still advantages to having landline phones. You don't have to constantly charge them. The reception is good. In case of 911 emergencies it's easier for your home to be located and landline phones have fewer hacking issues.
Going cell phone only seems to make more sense for people who need to use their phone often when away from home.
For people looking to save money, cutting down on their wireless bill and using a digital home phone for most of their communication needs can bring significant savings which can be put into buying other services which can enhance the quality of your life and bring entertainment to your family.
Let’s consider how wireless cell phone service is trending towards more expensive bills and how the alternative of a home digital phone can save you money while keeping you connected.
I got rid of my landline several years ago. I live on a hilltop and so could only have ancient electromechanical actual dial phone. Lightening take out anything electronic, used to go through lot dialup modems cause I would forget to unplug phone line. Dialup internet became pointlessly slow as internet became more and more layers of crap on every website. Landline $25 plus dialup $12 and rising as customers left the remaining dialup ISPs....
No DSL on my rural road. I already had a $10 a month prepaid cell with flip phone at time. One of those with carry over minutes, which I had a mountain cause I rarely used it. I got prepaid 3G hotspot. $40 for 4GB data which if frugal
with it, lasted a month. Hey at least no waiting half hour for webpage to load.
Did that for couple year, then lost the flip phone. In process of finding replacement phone and ordering a replacement SIM, got to looking and found another prepaid MVNO that offered 360day prepaid that worked out to $23 a month if I bought it when they had a sale Black Friday. Unlimited voice, text, and back then 10GB data per 30days which gradually increased to 20GB. And no extra charges for tethering to computer. If I went over on data, it dropped to super slow but didnt just end like the hotspot did.
Dropped the $10 a month flip and the hotspot. Been with the prepaid 360day plan since. Hey I havent made phone call last three years. I have phone for the internet connection since only alternatives are dialup or satellite. And anymore lot places WANT A CELL NUMBER TO SEND TEXT for security check. Actually think it has more to do with data collection.... They just assume everybody has a cell phone. Try getting an email account without a cell number.... really I dare you. Only one free email left, small company based in Switzerland, that doesnt require a cell number.
Honest if I had cable internet, just get one of those $30 a year prepaid emergency phone plans and call it good enough. Truly impossible to do anything in modern world without a cell phone number, whether you use it or not. You cant even sign up for google voice without a cell phone number "for security reasons". Tell somebody you dont have a phone and get "the blank stare", they dont know how to deal with that.
I got rid of my landline several years ago. I live on a hilltop and so could only have ancient electromechanical actual dial phone. Lightening take out anything electronic, used to go through lot dialup modems cause I would forget to unplug phone line. Dialup internet became pointlessly slow as internet became more and more layers of crap on every website. Landline $25 plus dialup $12 and rising as customers left the remaining dialup ISPs....
No DSL on my rural road. I already had a $10 a month prepaid cell with flip phone at time. One of those with carry over minutes, which I had a mountain cause I rarely used it. I got prepaid 3G hotspot. $40 for 4GB data which if frugal
with it, lasted a month. Hey at least no waiting half hour for webpage to load.
Did that for couple year, then lost the flip phone. In process of finding replacement phone and ordering a replacement SIM, got to looking and found another prepaid MVNO that offered 360day prepaid that worked out to $23 a month if I bought it when they had a sale Black Friday. Unlimited voice, text, and back then 10GB data per 30days which gradually increased to 20GB. And no extra charges for tethering to computer. If I went over on data, it dropped to super slow but didnt just end like the hotspot did.
Dropped the $10 a month flip and the hotspot. Been with the prepaid 360day plan since. Hey I havent made phone call last three years. I have phone for the internet connection since only alternatives are dialup or satellite. And anymore lot places WANT A CELL NUMBER TO SEND TEXT for security check. Actually think it has more to do with data collection.... They just assume everybody has a cell phone. Try getting an email account without a cell number.... really I dare you. Only one free email left, small company based in Switzerland, that doesnt require a cell number.
Honest if I had cable internet, just get one of those $30 a year prepaid emergency phone plans and call it good enough. Truly impossible to do anything in modern world without a cell phone number, whether you use it or not. You cant even sign up for google voice without a cell phone number "for security reasons". Tell somebody you dont have a phone and get "the blank stare", they dont know how to deal with that.
Soon, you won't be able to get groceries without a cell phone which is used for payment in place of credit cards.
You have lost me, Chenping but maybe that is because my landline has nothing to do with my computer. Two totally separate devices that work each on its own. However, I do have a friend whose phone somehow helps her get internet for the same reason -far out in the country. So, I'll leave it there.
My landline causes no problems. It is very simple, sends and receives phone calls - period. It can do more but I don't need it to do more. Its advantage for me is that it is cordless. Cost me $10 some years ago. And, if the computer crashes, I still have phone service.
Do I have a cell phone? Yes for only one reason. When I am away from home, I need to be able to call a cab to get back home. Also, for personal reasons, I do not do long distance with my landline. So, cell phone calls friends who live too many miles away. That is probably four or five times a year.
Big disadvantage to landlines. I don't know about other services but the monthly price for mine just keeps on climbing month after month. They do it pennies at a time, thinking we won't notice. Soon it will cost more than internet costs. Not going to deal with that until it happens. For now, enjoy. Life is short and not renewable.
I read somewhere that over half of US households no longer have a landline. We got rid of ours about three years ago. We were paying $50 a month/$600 a year for something we didn't really need. And that $50 a month did not include "long distance" charges, because we always used our cell phones to call out of the area friends, relatives and businesses. We pay $90 a month for our two smartphones and I am quite sure our long distance charge savings well exceeds the $40 "extra" we pay for our smartphone voice, text and data had we only relied on our landline for calling.
I feel there is a false economy with some folk who believe that having a cell phone/smartphone is a waste of money or they boast that they only pay $100 a year for a prepaid service and rely on their landline for all calling.
So why keep a landline?
There are very few true "landlines" any more. Most are VOIP. A true "landline" would not be internet dependent.
You have lost me, Chenping but maybe that is because my landline has nothing to do with my computer. Two totally separate devices that work each on its own. However, I do have a friend whose phone somehow helps her get internet for the same reason -far out in the country. So, I'll leave it there.
My landline causes no problems. It is very simple, sends and receives phone calls - period. It can do more but I don't need it to do more. Its advantage for me is that it is cordless. Cost me $10 some years ago. And, if the computer crashes, I still have phone service.
Do I have a cell phone? Yes for only one reason. When I am away from home, I need to be able to call a cab to get back home. Also, for personal reasons, I do not do long distance with my landline. So, cell phone calls friends who live too many miles away. That is probably four or five times a year.
Big disadvantage to landlines. I don't know about other services but the monthly price for mine just keeps on climbing month after month. They do it pennies at a time, thinking we won't notice. Soon it will cost more than internet costs. Not going to deal with that until it happens. For now, enjoy. Life is short and not renewable.
Hazel W
I have a similar set up. I have a landline phone at home. I have a bundle package with Spectrum. So that makes things cheaper overall. I also have a prepaid cell phone. I haven't seen the need to have a cell phone as my only phone because I don't need to be on a phone much when I'm away from home.
I can see what that article was talking about that I posted on how landline,when combined with a bundle deal,could be saving people money compared to a contract phone.
I don't think these fees and taxes are associated with landline:
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